By Sarah Handy, Staff Writer
Hendrick Motorsports announced Wednesday that Hertz, one of the largest vehicle rental companies in the world, has extended its partnership with organization and the No. 24 Chevrolet driven by William Byron.
The two-year agreement will run through the 2021 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. Hertz will continue to be a primary sponsor for Byron in four points paying events in the Cup Series and as a full-season associate level sponsor.
For the 2020 season, Hertz will be a primary sponsor on Byron’s No. 24 at Auto Club Speedway in California and ISM Raceway (Phoenix) in March. In addition, Hertz will adorn the Chevrolet in the playoff races at Talladega Superspeedway and Kansas Speedway in October.
“We are excited to continue our relationship with Hendrick Motorsports and look forward to building upon this winning partnership,” said Hertz senior vice president Jayesh Patel in a team press release. “William Byron is a great competitor, and we’re proud to support him and his No. 24 team.”
The partnership began in May of 2018 and has included a collaboration which introduced an exclusive line of Hertz-Hendrick Motorsports custom Camaro rental cars in which the cars pay tribute to the No. 24 that Byron pilots.
Byron’s 2020 No. 24 Hertz Chevrolet is a reverse scheme version of the custom Camaro design.
(Photo: Hendrick Motorsports)
The new scheme will make its race debut at ISM Raceway on November 10 in the Bluegreen Vacations 500.
“We’re thrilled to see our partnership with Hertz continue,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports in a team press release. “From offering a special line of Camaros to rewarding high-performing employees with NASCAR experiences, Hertz has done a wonderful job with the program. In only his second year, William has shown he can run up front on any type of racetrack. The future of the No. 24 team is very bright, and we look forward to sharing that future with everyone at Hertz.”
(Photo: NKP)
To this point in 2019 Byron has earned four Top-5s, 12 Top-10s, five pole awards, and led for 225 laps heading into this weekend’s First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
Byron’s best finish of the season thus far is second-place in July’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
“I’m really excited to continue building on our relationship with Hertz,” Byron said. “They came on board the No. 24 during my rookie season and have continued their awesome support as we’ve grown as a team. We’ve done a lot in a short amount of time, but there’s so much more to accomplish. I can’t wait to put the new No. 24 Hertz paint scheme on the racetrack and see what else we can do together.”